


Even The Stars Burn

by cnroth



Series: Let the Mountains Move You [3]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Closure, Episode Fix-It: s07e25 Endgame (Star Trek: Voyager), F/M, Post-Endgame, Resolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-18 01:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18110144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnroth/pseuds/cnroth
Summary: Voyager has finally made it home, but there’s still at least one loose end to tie up.A much-requested missing scene between “Sweetest Downfall” and “We Are.”





	Even The Stars Burn

**Author's Note:**

> “And when you’re needing your space to do some navigating, I’ll be here patiently waiting to see what you find. ‘Cause even the stars, they burn. Some even fall to the earth. We’ve got a lot to learn, but God knows we’re worth it.”  
> —I Won’t Give Up, by Jason Mraz

They’ve done it. They’ve finally made it home.

Standing in her ready room, a fresh cup of black coffee in hand, Kathryn stares through the viewport at the spinning blue ball just outside. It still doesn’t feel real. Any moment now, she’ll wake up in her quarters and learn that the whole damn thing has been some kind of strange fever-dream. She’ll stumble through the corridors and find them just as calm as usual, no crew rushing about as they prepare to dock. She’ll go to sickbay and the Doctor will be alone in his office, no Tom and B’Elanna welcoming their baby girl into the universe.

She doesn’t know how long she stands here, but the view never changes.

Was it only a day ago when Kathryn stood in this very spot while Chakotay confronted her about the love she harbored for him? Once Kathryn had calmed her emotions enough to face the admiral, the two put their heads together to come up with a plan that satisfied her desire to cripple the Borg and the admiral’s desire to get them back to the Alpha Quadrant. In fact, the transwarp aperture had, quite literally, dropped them on Earth’s doorstep.

That fact was as exciting as it was terrifying. 

It hadn’t been a mission without sacrifice, however; the admiral modified the _Delta Flyer_ and sacrificed herself to the Borg Queen as a diversion while _Voyager_ carried out the mission. She’d also given her own body to carry a virus that had, hopefully, disrupted the hive mind entirely. Kathryn had tried to talk her out of it, but the old woman was stubborn. She’d insisted she didn’t belong in their timeline, and Kathryn could certainly understand her reasoning.

She could also intuit the admiral’s deep, all-consuming exhaustion from bearing the weight of so much grief for so long.

The door chimes, bringing Kathryn out of her reverie. “Come,” she says as she turns. Chakotay walks through, and she sets her coffee down.

“I’ve turned helm control over to the port ops techs. They’ve got a team on the hull upgrading our clamps now. We should be docked within the hour.”

“Very good. Any word from sickbay?”

He grins. “A healthy, four-point-two kilo baby girl.”

Kathryn’s sense of reality returns all at once. “ _Four kilos_?”

“She is one-quarter Klingon.”

Joy flares in her chest. This is right. It’s just as it should be. She beams. “Have they decided on a name yet?”

“Miral, after B’Elanna’s mother.”

“How lovely. I hope I get the chance to meet her before we’re swarmed with admirals, aides, and medical assistants.”

“They said to give them bit of time to rest and get cleaned up, but they want to see us both before we dock.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” She sighs and drops onto her couch. “Can you believe it, Chakotay?”

He clasps his arms behind his back. “Not really. It doesn’t exactly feel real yet. But I never doubted the plan.”

“Not even for a second?”

“No. We’ve beat the odds time and again with just one Kathryn Janeway. But with two Kathryn Janeways? No way we were going to fail.”

She chuckles. Heat rushes into her cheeks and she dips her head. “I appreciate your confidence.”

A silence falls between them. It isn’t awkward, but it isn’t exactly comfortable either. She doesn’t know what to say next, so she lets it hang.

After a beat, Chakotay clears his throat. “Kathryn, I know this may not be the right time, but I wanted to tell you. I talked to Seven.”

Her chest tightens. She lifts her head, meeting his dark eyes. “About?”

“I told her I’m in love with you, that I’ve been in love with you for years, and that I can’t, in good conscience, be in a relationship with her when I have feelings for someone else.”

“How did she take it?”

“She understood. We parted on good terms. There’s no hard feelings.”

Part of Kathryn is beyond herself with happiness at Chakotay’s confession; another part is furious with him for breaking up with Seven when she’d clearly told him not to. She keeps her voice calm and her expression neutral. “I see.” 

Chakotay springs into motion, hands unclasping and feet practically leaping up the steps that bring him to her level. He sits on the couch and slides close to her. He takes her hand. “You said when you’re no longer my commanding officer, you’d be with me.”

She watches him carefully, her mind and body frozen, reality beginning to slip once again like gears not quite catching. “I did.”

“Well, that’s about to be the case.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

He scoffs. “Yes, we do. If they ask us both to keep our assignments on _Voyager_ —which I seriously doubt they’ll do—I’ll ask for a transfer. Or, I’ll get my old teaching position back. Or, I’ll resign.”

She yanks her hand away. “Resign? Chakotay, you can’t possibly—“

“I can and I will. Kathryn, I told you. I’ll do anything to be with you. Besides, there’s no guarantee they’ll allow me to keep my commission, considering my record.”

“They need experienced officers now more than ever thanks to the war. They won’t let you go.”

He doesn’t look convinced, although he doesn’t say as much. He simply shakes his head, taking her hand again. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters to me is that I’m with you. Is that still something you want?”

Tears threaten her eyes and she blinks them back. Without thinking it, she weaves her fingers between his. “Yes.”

Chakotay smiles, dimples emerging and melting her heart. “Good.”

“Why?” The question emerges from her lips unbeckoned, and for a moment she isn’t even sure that she’d said it out loud.

His smile falters. “Why what?”

“Why love me all this time? After all I’ve done, all I’ve refused, all the mistakes I’ve made and all the times I’ve hurt you. How can you still want to be with me?”

He leans in, kicking her heart into a galloping rhythm as he cups her face in his hand and rests his forehead on hers. “I already told you back on New Earth. Standing by your side has given me peace I couldn’t fathom before.”

“That was a long time ago. Things change.”

“This hasn’t,” he murmurs before pressing his lips to hers.

Reality crashes down around her, shattering into a million tiny pieces. It is real, and it is also beyond any reality she could have hoped for. Kathryn leans into the kiss, soft and sweet and slow. It is a reminder of what they left behind on New Earth, sacrificed for her parameters and their duty to _Voyager’s_ crew. It is a promise of things to come.

When Chakotay pulls away, his brown eyes lingering on hers, Kathryn realizes she has slid her fingers into his hair. She slowly drags her hand away, pausing to touch his cheek before she retreats completely. She squeezes his hand and lets him go. “After debriefings, there will probably be a reception at headquarters. It will be a very… involved affair. The press will be there. I don’t want our relationship to be the story they get. If there’s any hint of scandal, they’ll jump all over it. But once that’s done…” She smiles.

He nods. “I’ll behave until then.”

“Thank you.”

He takes one last moment to gaze into her eyes before getting to his feet. He offers her an elbow. “What do you say we go visit our newest crew member?”

She grins and takes his arm. “Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my wonderful beta, sara_sedai, for her help and quick turnaround.


End file.
